Maple Cross facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Maple Cross |
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 The Maple Cross pub remains a defining landmark although now converted into dwellings. |
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 Maple Cross
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| Population | 2,426 (2011. approx) |
| OS grid reference | TQ034929 |
| District |
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| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | RICKMANSWORTH |
| Postcode district | WD3 9 |
| Dialling code | 01923 |
| Police | Hertfordshire |
| Fire | Hertfordshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament |
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Maple Cross is a village in Hertfordshire, England, which up until the Second World War consisted of an inn, a blacksmith's shop and a few cottages. Today there are around 800 postwar council houses. Some of these have been sold into private ownership. The area is close by junction 17 of the M25 motorway, which makes up the western boundary of the village. It lies on the western fringe of Rickmansworth, about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) west of Watford and 6 miles north of Uxbridge.
Transport
Maple Cross is bounded by the M25 motorway and a spur from junction 17, designated as Maple Cross, runs to the village and the Denham Way. The areas main thoroughfare, Denham Way, was built in the 1950s as an improvement to The Old Uxbridge Road, and forms part of the A412.
The area is served by the Greenline route 724 which runs from Heathrow Airport to Harlow, Essex, via Watford and the local Arriva 520 which begins in Maple Cross and runs to Watford. The bus route R21 runs from Mount Vernon Hospital via Harefield and Rickmansworth. It normally terminates at Maple Cross, but extends its journey to Uxbridge twice per day via Denham.
The Grand Junction Canal, later to be renamed as a part of the Grand Union Canal was built in 1798 alongside the River Colne and remains in use today.
The planned HS2 London to Birmingham high speed rail link will pass half a mile to the south of the village on an embankment.
Sewage treatment plant
Maple Cross is the location of the Thames Water Maple Lodge Sewage Treatment Works. The plant, with its sister site at Blackbirds Farm in Aldenham serve the whole of West Hertfordshire; an area with a population of 557,000 people.
The sewage plant's claim to fame is its use as a storage facility for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) used to extinguish the fire at the Buncefield Oil Terminal. Sludge from the plant was also burnt to generate "green" electricity for the Millennium Dome.
The plant was used in 1952 to test diffused aeration technology and a diffused-air activated sludge purification system has been in continuous use since. The cleaned effluent from this process is discharged into the nearby Grand Union Canal.
Sludge settled from the incoming sewage is treated by retention in enclosed heated anaerobic digestion tanks, a by-product of this process being methane gas which is used for on-site electrical power generation. The main product, digested sludge, is "caked" in industrial centrifuges before disposal to land as fertiliser.
Nature Reserve
There is a 40 acre nature reserve on Thames Water owned land formerly used for gravel extraction, adjacent to the sewage treatment plant. It includes lakes and wetlands that provide a habitat for wildfowl and nine Bird hides. The reserve is leased to the Maple Lodge Conservation Society that was founded in 1983. Access is normally restricted to members of the society with an open weekend in May.
Sport and leisure
The Maple Cross Recreation Ground situated on Denham Way is operated by Three Rivers Local Authority and has open air sports facilities of two full sized football pitches, one junior sized football pitch, two tennis courts and a cricket pitch available for public use via its booking line. There is also car parking and a sports pavilion with changing rooms.
The village now has no public house, but there are two social clubs, The Maple Cross Club on Longcroft Road and the Chiltern Sports and Social Club on Maple Lodge Close.
See also
In Spanish: Maple Cross para niños
